European Union looks to approve first ever military budget

The European parliament will vote on Wednesday for the first time on whether to spend large scale public cash on military research.

Members of the European Parliament – the parliamentary institute of the EU - are voting on a so-called "Preparatory Action for Defense Research" which would allow 3 years of groundwork cash to be spent before a full defense budget is approved.

The initial program, described by the parliament as modest, will cost between 40 and 100 million euros($43 -109 mn) to fund.

Despite its small nature, it would represent the first time that he EU has subsidized military research.

If the initial work is deemed a success, a full EU defense budget of at least 3.5 billion euros could then be spent between 2021 and 2027.

The case for an EU-funded defense program has been put together by a so called "group of personalities" which includes politicians, as well as representatives from companies such as Saab, Finmeccanica, and BAE Systems.

A separate paper released by the European Parliament in March this year said that there is an increasing demand for the EU to become a "security provider".

The paper said the demand comes from both the U.S., as well as member states of the European Union.